The Olde Antique Shoppe - Part 2 - Finding the Rolodex

So, the story below follows on from my first tale, The Olde Antique Shoppe:

***

I put down my grandfather's letter. I was a little bit shocked and found myself quelling a surge of grief. Hearing his voice, even if only in my head, had been both wonderful and heartbreaking.

But his letter had presented a puzzle. Rolodex? What on Earth could that be? And Alice? I'd never heard him talk about an Alice. Was it the lady in the florist over the road? No, she was Virginia? Something beginning with 'V' anyway. Vanessa?

I needed to stop thinking about blowsy middle-aged flower arrangers who may or may not be called Vanessa and focus on the task. Alice was going to have to remain a mystery for now but I could use the trusty internet to search for "Rolodex" to at least get an idea of what to look for.

Google provided the answer. Right. I was looking for a flippy address book thingy in a sepia coloured case. It rang a bell. What had Grandad said in his letter? "You will be visited by strangers all the time. Use the Rolodex to seek them out for validation."

Validation? Does that mean I'd be visited by rogues, people pretending? I'm not going to lie: I felt simultaneously excited and scared at the prospect. How would I know who was who? How would the Rolodex provide validation? I knew what I needed to do - find that Rolodex before someone came through the door.

The desk. Seemed a logical place to start. No sign of a key though for its locked drawer.

Alice? Was that the clue? I went over to the bookcase. No Alice there.

I looked around. Arthur Rackham.

A wall print.

Alice and the white rabbit.

Picture, are you the key? I asked myself.

I went over to it and turned it around. The back was blank.

And then, I spotted it. A small key in the corner as part of the picture.

I placed my finger on it and like it was magnetised, the key materialised, twice the size of its picture equivalent, stuck to the end of my finger.

What? How?

I took it over to the desk drawer, unlocked it and found the Rolodex.

As I did, the shop door opened.

***

364 words

I haven't really taken this very far but at least the Rolodex is found and I love Arthur Rackham's illustrations of Alice in Wonderland so got to include one here.

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please do drop a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

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